The Angels
by Jam For Thought
Summary: Humanstuck. Eridan and his best friend, Feferi, try to figure out his psychosis thing together. Psychosis!Eridan. One shot.


Eridan ran. He ran from the angels, and their awful, awful screaming. He ran from the ocean, with its salty, stinging air that brought back bad memories and giant, floating serpents. He ran from his house, warped and polka-dotted, whispering to him in a language long dead. He ran.

His eyes burned as tears were ripped from them, fogging his glasses and streaming down his cheeks. He would scream if he could, but he needed to get away, and yet, they kept pace perfectly. The angels tore at his clothes, screaming like banshees as they grinned their sour, sharp-toothed grins. He needed to find Feferi. Feferi would help.

Wheezing. He was wheezing. Every breath he took felt like it was setting his lungs on fire, over and over again. He knocked urgently on her door as the angels crowded around him, poking and prodding him, telling him she would never come, that she never cared. He wished they would start screaming again, if only to stop talking to him.

Feferi opened her door cheerily, a smile on her face. It fell as she saw her dearest friend waving his arms around him, trying to ward off something she couldn't see. He was sobbing his heart out, and his glasses were crooked. When he finally saw her, he rushed towards her. She welcomed him into her embrace, running her fingers through his hair.

"They're back, they're back, they're back," he cried, his voice clotted with tears as he repeated the phrase over and over again. He clinged on to Feferi for dear life, and at once she knew what was happening.

Gently, she shut the front door. She carefully pushed him away from her.

"Are they in here?" she asked softly, a look of concern on her face. Eridan's frantic eyes darted around the room quickly. He shook his head no, light catching on his tear stained cheeks.

"Can you still hear them?" she brushed his hair away from his face, slowly drying his face. He nodded. "A little. It's horrible, their screams."

"Come on, let's go to the couch. Remeber what you should do?" she slid her arm around his waist for support, the other holding his hand to lead him. Again, he nodded. "Say if I hear anything and don't hesitate to ask if something's there."

"Have you been taking your medication?" she asked when they sat down on the couch together. she pulled him close, laying back and beginning to run her fingers through his hair.

"Yeah, it's helped a little. I don't really hear them anymore when I'm inside, but my house is all dotty now."

"We'll ask about that. Next week, right?"

"Hmm. Yeah."

There were a few moments of blissful silence.

"Uh, Fef?"

"Yes?"

"Have the flowers in your vase always been blue?"

"Which vase?"

"The one on the coffee table."

"There isn't a vase on the coffee table, Eridan. There's a book titled 2000 Leagues Under the Sea, it's bright red, there's a small plastic cup, pink, with a little water in it, and there's a cat statue in the center, remember it? Nepeta gave it to me. There's no vase."

"Oh. What's that?"

"What's what?"

"It sounds like whistling, like sailor-type stuff. Is that real?"

Feferi paused for a moment. "Yeah, that's my dad. I hear him. It is a sailor song, one of his favorites."

"So those are his footsteps? They're really heavy."

"Yep. That's him. He's almost here." She smiled.

"I see the statue now."

"Mhmm. That's good." Her reply was nonchalant.

The door clicked and its knob turned, and a few momets later, her dad came through the door. She waved to him joyfully. He beamed at her, Eridan as well, but his eyes turned misty and sad when they fell on Eridan.

"The angels again, bub?" He asked in his gruff voice, rubbing his beard and slipping out of his jacket.

"Y-yeah, it's them." His reply was a little shaky. He almost forgot her dad had it, too. "Do you see them, sir?"

"Hmm? Me? Oh, no, m'boy, I don't really see much out o' th'ordinary." He scratched his head, as one would do to try and remember. "Least, I don't think so. My thing's mostly hearin'. 'S why I whistle, kinda helps drown it out, y'know?"

Eridan nodded in understanding. "I see a lot of stuff, but I hear them, too. My house whispers and the angels scream and the sea serpents sound like my dad."

Feferi's dad smiled grimly at him. "You're holdin' up well. I feel bad for ye, havin' t'deal with all that. I used t'resent whatev'r I heard, but what you're goin' through must be a million times worse." He shook his head sadly. "I've got t'do m'work now, sorry. Nice chat this's been." He waved, then began whistling as he walked.

Eridan turned his head up to Feferi. "You're dad's nice, Fef."

She laughed her musical laugh. "I'm glad you think so. Still hear 'em? The angels, I mean?"

Eridan listened hard. He slowly shook his head. "I don't think so, unless they're being _real_ quiet."

She smiled at him. "Home, then?"

He nodded. "Time to go."


End file.
